


lonely night

by krucxa



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Attempt at Humor, But also, Eating Disorders, Fae & Fairies, Fluff, Ghosts, Light Angst, M/M, Mystery, Urban Legends, a lil bit of - Freeform, andy pwease dont @ me for this, for now yangyang is only mentioned, for now........, hyuck is a witch!!, is this already more than just light angst idk please tell me??, jaemin doesn't help lmao, no beta we die like men, renjun is confused, theyre all soft as hell??, whoo boy here we go, whoops
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-01-30
Packaged: 2019-10-11 05:40:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17441000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krucxa/pseuds/krucxa
Summary: "Be careful, you don't want to ride this train, trust me. It's not, uh..." he trails off, licking his lips before continuing, "destinedfor people like you. It's better to stay away from the ghost trains."





	1. 해가 지고 달이 뜬 밤 네 생각에 잠 못 들어

**Author's Note:**

> listen. listen i wrote this in like? an hour?? i think?? so. there's probably gonna be a bunch of grammar mistakes nd shit but! i can't be bothered to beta it right now hskjgks  
> like. this idea struck me Out Of Nowhere after a rlly long writers block and believe me i have No Clue what i just wrote lmao  
> but?? enjoy??  
> (oh also the title is knk's song and not to be That Stan but like. give it a listen maybe??)

There's something eerie about an empty train station at night.

Renjun isn't sure whether he likes it.

His phone adds an uncomfortable weight in his pocket. Having ran out of battery a while ago, there's no way for him to check the time as it runs by, yet nothing about his surroundings changes. His grip on the device tightens, uncertain, and he looks around, searching.

He's not certain about exactly _what_ he's looking for; still, it doesn't stop the dissapointment pricking at his chest when he comes up with nothing.

Cold air fills his lungs as he breathes in ㅡ frost biting at his skin, his cheeks painfully numb and he shivers, curling in on himself, the thin hoodie thrown over him obviously not enough for the surprisingly freezing weather ㅡ and a white puff slips past his lips as he exhales.

It's the middle of the summer. Logically, he _knows_ it's impossible for it to be as cold as he feels. And yet.

There's a breeze that passes him. He can only bring himself to scrunch his nose at it in response, too tired to do anything else.

Aware of the time slipping from his fingers, he slumps his head, glancing at his hand ㅡ the one that's currently holding on to the side of his pants.

The skin of his fingers seems red, irritated by the chill of the night, and maybe it's just his imagination, or he's finally going mad, but he thinks his nails look almost sickly purple; either just in this lighting, or in general.

That's when he finally hears a sound.

It's fairly quiet, but it contrasts the alarming silence that's been keeping him company up until now, so it shreds the chilling atmosphere, even if for a second.

That is, until Renjun notices what, exactly, the sound comes from.

A train is slowly making its way to the station. Taking its time, it fills Renjun with an illogical dread, more and more with every second that he spends quietly staring at it.

The lights in the carriage are dimmed, barely enough for him to realize he can't see a single person inside ㅡ but, he's been waiting for anything to arrive for so long, he might as well take his chances.

Finally, the train stops a few feet away from him, the doors stuttering before opening, and he takes a shaky breath before making his way over.

Right before he steps in, though, something lands on his shoulder and pulls him back.

He whips his head around, his gaze falling to the hand on his shoulder ㅡ it's light, the weight barely there, and unexpectedly warm ㅡ before his eyes flick up and his breath gets knocked out of his chest.

The stranger he finds himself in front of is, for the lack of a better word, unearthly.

His eyes are so dark they seem almost black, the lashes too long and irises too sharp to be human ㅡ yet, as Renjun blinks, the feeling is gone, as if the thought never even prodded at his mind.

Renjun opens his mouth, unsure of what he was about to say, but no sound comes out, anyway.

Yet when the stranger starts talking, his voice is calm, if not the slightest bit careful, and Renjun just doesn't understand why it makes him feel the way it does, but it's soothing, in its own way.

"Be careful, you don't want to ride this train, trust me. It's not, uh..." he trails off, licking his lips before continuing, " _destined_ for people like you. It's better to stay away from the ghost trains."

Puzzled, Renjun still can't bring himself to say anything. It's okay, though ㅡ the stranger does all the talking needed.

"Actually, it's not safe being here at the witching hour. You should go back home. And, uh, don't turn around while leaving the station. You'll hear some really fucked up sounds but, trust me. It's for your own good."

The boy pats his shoulder once, twice, before glaring at the train and turning Renjun towards the exit. As Renjun takes a few steps at first, he can hear the other following him, his hands still securely resting on his shoulder, and his voice fills the air again, as if he just remembered something.

"Oh, also. When you're finally back, don't be alarmed if you have trouble falling asleep for the next few days. It's normal. And if you hear two, even knocks before the sun rises, don't open the doors. And don't leave the house until you're sure the sun is out there. If the sun is up, that means they left, and you're safe to go. Understand?"

The only thing Renjun doesn't understand right now is just _why_ he trusts the stranger so much, and he nods despite himself.

The hands on his shoulders finally back away, and the steps following him stop.

He doesn't look back, instead burying his head deeper into the hoodie, steeling himself for what the stranger said is about to come.

And when he _does_ hear whatever it is, happening behind him, he suddenly doesn't have trouble comprehending why anyone would have trouble falling asleep after this.

(Only when he's lying awake in his bed a few hours later, does it struck him; the voice of the stranger's reminds him of a lullaby.)

✫彡

Renjun's expecting it the second time it happens.

It's as cold as he remembers it to be, and this time he's actually prepared for the chilling air ㅡ the big, fuzzy jacket he's thrown on protecting him from the breeze, the bright yellow scarf around his neck enough to make sure his throat isn't going to hurt like hell the next day.

"Why are you here again?"

The tone of the voice sounds baffled, yet still a little bit satisfied, as if the person hoped this would happen, just a little bit.

Renjun turns his head to face the stranger from yesterday, his chest suddenly tight when he notices the corners of the boy's mouth tilting upward in a smile that's barely there.

"I told you it's dangerous for you to be here at this hour. So, why?"

This time, Renjun can finally speak.

"I was... curious," he murmurs, his shoulders stiffening when the stranger tilts his head to the side, his gaze leaving Renjun's eyes for a second ㅡ looking straight behind him, and it happens once more, the stranger's irises seem to sharpen in a way that Renjun wouldn't describe as human like - before he turns back to Renjun as if nothing happened.

"Curious," the boy repeats, his gaze softening, and he smiles again, reaching out his hand for Renjun to take, "okay, if you say so. But first, we need to get you out of here, if you still want to be alive in the nearest future."

The grin on his lips doesn't fit the words at all, the almost happy glint in his eyes entracing Renjun when the stranger tugs him closer, his other hand falling over Renjun's eyes.

He doesn't dare question it, silently waiting until the stranger pulls back, and Renjun has to blink as he adjust to the sudden brightness.

He slowly glances around, realizing that they're standing inside a café nearby the train station, surprisingly full of life at such an hour.

He also doesn't question it when the boy's hand finds his, tugging him through the shop in the direction of the counter, and Renjun watches as he grins up at the bartender, telling him something that Renjun can't hear, before taking a seat and Renjun can only do the same.

They still don't talk as the two wait for their drinks. Instead, Renjun chooses to look around the café again, noting all the different customers; there's something off about every single one of them.

His attention is brought back only when the bartender puts a drink in front of him and he blinks, before reaching out for it without much thought.

A sense of déjà vu washes over him when the boy stops him again, his hand landing on top of Renjun's.

The boy doesn't stop smiling reassuringly as he sprinkles something into the cup, tapping it twice with a determined look before turning once more to Renjun and finally speaking up.

"You know, as nice as Jaehyun, the bartender, is, you probably shouldn't just take food from fae without any questions," he pushes the drink closer to Renjun, which he grabs cautiously this time, glancing at the boy and raising an eyebrow in question, "don't worry, it's good now. It's already neutralized, but it's a good lesson. Even if the fae don't mean any harm, it's not wise to mindlessly trust them."

It seems ironic, even if Renjun can't put his finger on the reason _why_.

"How... do you know so much about, uh, all of this?" he asks, carefully choosing his words and looking for any change in the boy's expression ㅡ he finds nothing, except for the amused eyebrow raise.

"I guess you could say that I've... been around here, for a while," he responds, just as careful as Renjun did, and _God_ , that doesn't explain anything.

"Anyway, if you ever want to meet me, don't go to the train station anymore. It really is dangerous for a mortal to be there, at the witching hour," he interrupts himself to take a sip of the coffee, licking the cream off his lips with a satisfied hum, "just, uh, that might sound weird. But like, you know, if you could leave a gift of sorts, on your windowsill? That would be nice."

He sounds a little embarrassed as he says it, his hand scratching the back if his neck and before Renjun can decide whether the other is _probably joking_ or not, he's already talking again, "you know, like, for example, coffee? Yeah. I like coffee. But please, nothing strawberry favoured. Oh, and I wouldn't complain if it was something shiny."

As if just saying that word was enough, the boy's eyes glinted in the light, in a way that Renjun doesn't think could be possible in a simple coffee shop.

There's also pink tinting his cheeks, and the word _cute_ fills Renjun's mind before he can stop the thought.

Then, as if the spell broke, the boy suddenly glanced at the clock on the wall, his face visibly paling.

"Oh, shoot, I have to go. Listen, you can stay here as long as you want, but don't order anything else to drink," he mutters quickly as he stands up, nodding and throwing a hushed _bye_ over his shoulder.

But Renjun can't let him go just yet, there's so many questions left unanswered and _shit_ , the dude is fast ㅡ it's probably because of his long legs, which, by the way, curse his tall frame.

"Wait, what's your name?" he shouts before the other steps outside, and the boy turns to him, surprise painted all over his face before he smiles, so, so wide it reaches his eyes, andㅡ oh.

"Jaemin."

And with that, he's gone.


	2. 눈을 감아도 자꾸 생각나 네가 가슴 깊이 파고들어

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ("Why the _hell_ would you be at the train station at that hour?" "Shut up, Donghyuck." "No, but seriously, I'm curious.")

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yooo this is. the fastest i'll ever update any of my fics. jesus. the n e x t day??????? yeah, idk what happened to me either  
> tho yeah, i hope ya'll like this!! it's unbeta'd, again, i'll probably do it later when i have the time?? for now tho, if there are any typos..... just ignore them pls <33

we need to talk. **[01:27 pm]**

 **[01:28 pm]** what the FUCK injun that's so ominous

**[01:32 pm]** don't leave me on read u asshole  
**[01:32 pm]** you know that makes me anxious 

sorry **[01:33 pm]**

 **[01:34 pm]** yeah yeah now open the window  
**[01:35 pm]** its fucking cold

A bunch of erratic knocks reach his ears, followed by a string of muffled curses and he snickers as he stuffs his phone into his pocket. He doesn't waste any time while making his way over to his bedroom, though.

The first thing he sees is the way Donghyuck's eyebrows furrow, his lips pulled into a pout, and the accusatory glare the boy sends him, obviously threatening him with murder if Renjun dares to keep the window closed for any second longer.

Glancing behind his best friend, Renjun can spot Donghyuck's bedroom across from his own, the balcony door wobbling with every stronger blow of wind, and the old tree growing right in between their houses.

The branch the redhead's sitting on keeps bouncing up and down underneath Donghyuck's weight and maybe, just maybe, they might be a little bit too old to still be doing this.

"Finally, _Jesus Christ_ ," the younger whines, crawling through the window after Renjun pulls it open, and wincing as he falls face-first onto Renjun's bed.

He doesn't move from the spot for a while, only lifting his head when he runs out of breath, before nodding his head in thanks when Renjun throws a spare blanket at him.

"Seriously, it's summer, what the hell? Like, hey, I was expecting ungodly heat and sunshine on my skin, notㅡ whatever this is," he waves vaguely at the window, but Renjun _understands_.

"I know, right? It's so," interrupting himself with a shrug, he can't think of the best fitting word, so he just mumbles a defeated, "weird."

Silence follows, the two of them staring blankly at the glass, before Renjun shakes himself out of it and waddles over, shutting the window. In his mind, he gives himself a shoulder pat, thanking his two remaining brain cells for working - sometimes, at least.

"Anyway," he hears Donghyuck say, turning to glance at the younger, "what did you want to, uh, talk about?"

He can't help but smile apologetically at his best friend, already embarrassed.

"You know, I just thought that, since, my amazing best friend is also, very conveniently, may I add, a witch..."

_Conveniently_ , mouths the redhead, his eyebrows rising, unimpressed ㅡ but Renjun pays it no mind, "you could like, help? Me? With something? Or, at least explain some stuff to me, I guess."

It's not his best attempt at asking for help, but it'll do.

"Okay," Donghyuck mumbles, drawing out the syllables, "since you're so nice about this, your _convienent_ witch friend might just help. You know, dark magic, praise Satan, and all that stereotypical shit that Mark's religious grandmother would faint if she ever heard me say," he rolls his eyes, but quickly joins Renjun's hysterical laughter.

At times like these, Renjun can't help but wonder just how lucky he is to have the other as his best friend ㅡ he's spent the last few hours worrying about _this_ , about the way he should describe what's been happening lately ㅡ yet now, he's calm.

Donghyuck makes it easy.

So, he opens his mouth and tries to explain the situation as best as he can. And Donghyuck? He manages to listen to the story with minimal amount of questioning grumbling ("Why the _hell_ would you be at the train station at that hour?" "Shut up, Donghyuck." "No, but seriously, I'm curious."). In the end, Renjun's just happy there's at least one person he can share this with.

"So... that Jaemin of yours," mumbles the redhead after Renjun finishes his rant, but doesn't continue his thought, nibbling at his lip instead.

Donghyuck never holds himself back from saying anything. He's the type to value truth over niceties, which is often mistaken for him lacking a brain-to-mouth filter ㅡ and Renjun knows that. He glances at the other in confusion, before inching a little closer, hoping that would make the younger more comfortable, "what about him?"

"The thing about leaving a gift, it's, uh, fairly common in witchcraft, actually? Not for... humans, though. Like, you don't really _summon_ people, right?" he scrunches his nose at the thought, and Renjun snickers at his facial expression before the boy continues, "but like, usually you leave gifts for all kinds of entities, or, I don't know, demons? If you're into that. Some witches work with ghosts, some with fairies, pixies, all kinds of the fae, uh, folk. Yeah..."

"Are you saying Jaemin might not be... human?"

Donghyuck's head whips up, meeting Renjun's eyes with a surprisingly serious gaze.

"Probably, yeah. Just..." he looks down at his lap before continuing, "be cautious, okay?"

His voice trembles the slightest bit, his words dripping with worry and Renjun can feel his entire posture softening, and he inches even closer, throwing an arm around Donghyuck's shoulders.

"I will," he promises.

It's quiet for a while, as Donghyuck lets his head fall on top of Renjun's chest, and maybe it _is_ freezing outside, but right now, Renjun feels happy, warm, and he lets himself forget about everything for a while. He can feel Donghyuck's fingers tracing a symbol on his back, figuring it's probably one of the sigils the younger talks about so much, and before he knows it, he's already smiling.

"Now, cheesy moment over, do you want me to teach you some easy spells?"

Now, they both know Renjun isn't a witch. Even if any of his attempts at a spell were succesfull, they would never be as strong as Donghyuck's. That doesn't stop him from murmuring an enthusiastic, "sure."

✫彡

As Renjun stands in front of the café Jaemin brought him to that one time, he's calm ㅡ he's prepared in every way Donghyuck deemed necessary.

There's an amulet circled around his neck that the younger handed him yesterday, saying it's full of protective intent ㅡ whatever that meant. Renjun can't quite remember, and if he didn't know better, he'd just assume it was a simple necklace, but he trusts his best friend.

With every step he takes, he can feel the two crystals inside his pocket knocking against his knuckles. _Smoky Quartz_ and _Amethyst_ , he recalls, one for general protection and grounding, the other protecting travellers. He's on a search for answers, so he guesses it kinda fits.

He even went as far as to draw a pentacle on the inside on his wrist. This one, he's not entirely sure about, but he thinks he saw Donghyuck do that at least one time, so he figures there's more good than bad that it can do.

So he takes a deep breath, then opens the door.

And, as he steps inside, he can literally _feel_ the difference of the atmosphere of the coffee shop from that night.

Then, it felt kind of stiff, cold, maybe even Renjun would go as far as to say _mysterious_. Now?

Now it's just warm.

He looks around, sparing a glance at the few customers inside. All of them are different, yet they have the same comfortable vibe about them, some sitting alone and others chatting in little groups. Everything seems so painfully _normal_.

Renjun doesn't understand it.

He shuffles where he's standing, before walking up to the counter, uncertain. Immediately, his gaze falls to one of the bartenders standing behind it.

And one thing he notices instantly is just how ridulously _huge_ the guy is.

Okay, that's coming from Renjun, the one person that's _always_ the short friend of the group ㅡ so it probably should be taken with a grain of salt. But holy shit, he has to crane his neck just to glance at his face and hey, that fucking hurts.

(Maybe he's salty, but he thinks it's unfair how tall everyone is compared to him.)

"Don't worry, I was intimated by this giant at first, too."

The tone of the voice is light hearted, making Renjun whip his head around andㅡ finally, he doesn't have to look up when facing someone.

The sigh that leaves his lips amuses the second bartender, as the other chuckles from where he's leaning against the counter. His shoulders are relaxed, his head resting on his hand that's propped on top of the counter, and he shoots a friendly smile at Renjun before saying, "so, what could I get for you?"

That stunts Renjun for a second, and he scrambles to find the nicest way to say that this isn't what he came here for, "actually, I... I just wanted to talk to someone? If you could... uh... I mean... you know Jaehyun? I heard he's a bartender here and he's not... here..."

He trails off, watching as the bartender blinks at him, before glancing at the taller one in clear confusion.

They stare at each other for a second, the other probably taking it as a sign to come closer, and the shorter finally turns back to Renjun.

"No Jaehyun, that I know of, actually... works here? And yeah, I should know that, I've been working here for like, four years now," he replies. His eyes don't leave Renjun's, and he can't come up with any sing that would mean the other is lying ㅡ how could it be possible, though?

"Yeah," chimes in the taller guy, "are you sure that you got the right place?"

The bartender is clearly worried for him, and Renjun feels bad for making the two confused ㅡ even if he's the one with even more questions than before.

"Not... really," he tries to assure them, as much as his unconvincing mumbling could, anyway.

It seems to be enough, though, as the taller one grins at him, saying something about the other coffee shops in the area, and it's so much information at once that Renjun's pretty sure he's not going to remember any of it later ㅡ it's not like he really needs it, though. He _knows_ this is the same café he's been in before.

"Anyway, if that doesn't help, you can always come back? I'm Johnny, and this little dude goes around by Ten, so if you ever need us, just ask for either," he finishes, pointing at the other bartender cheerfully, either not noticing or ignoring the glare Ten shoots him in passing.

"Thanks. My name's Renjun," he replies, smiling back at the two, before waving as a goodbye.

Before he leaves the shop, he can hear Ten shouting, "tell us if you find your friend!"

The one thing he knows, is that he already likes the duo.

✫彡

He's sitting on his bed, staring at the windowsill, deep in thought.

He hasn't seen Jaemin even once since the night at the coffee shop. And honestly, it's not even that surprising ㅡ considering how he's only met him for the first time not even that long ago. And, the whole probably-not-human situation.

He's be lying if he said he wasn't hoping that somehow, somewhere, Jaemin would still appear to him, or visit him in the middle of the night.

Nothing like that happened though, and Renjun stomps down the feeling of dissapointment that sinks down at the bottom of his stomach.

He turns to squint at the objects in his hands.

In his dominant one, he's holding a cup of coffee. He remembers that Jaemin said he likes it, but nothing about the way he prefers it to be, so Renjun decided to make it simple. A little bit of milk, balancing somewhere between what he thinks is too much and too little; one little spoon of sugar, hoping the boy isn't too picky about his coffee.

Then, in the second one, he's carefully holding a pair of earrings ㅡ he deemed them _just_ shiny enough. They're a little bit long, and maybe a little bit flowy ㅡ for the lack of a better word.

He hopes that's enough for a gift.

He doesn't want to come off as an asshole that can't even make a proper gift, after all.

So, he opens the window, shivering when the cold wind slips under his sleepwear, and puts the gift on the windowsill outside.

It's cold enough for him go see the steam from the coffee flying up in light puffs. He doesn't spend much time watching it, though ㅡ he's too sleepy for that.

Careful not to knock the cup, he shuts the window and doesn't waste time as he buries himself into the heavy blankets.

He's so tired, he doesn't have the energy to stay up thinking - and for once, since the first night at the train station, he finds himself fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry, no jaemin in this chapter!! but we got a cute friendship and (gasp) some new friends?? ain't that cute lmao


	3. 난 아직도 방 한 켠에 네 흔적이 묻은 추억을 떼어내지 못해

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you... know who he is?" he asks before Renjun can even open his mouth, and the question takes him aback for a minute.
> 
> "Yeah, that's, uh, Chenle?" he mumbles, not catching on.
> 
> Jaemin's eyes seem to hood over even more, if that's still possible at this point.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have One Thing To Say and it's,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, sowwy ówò  
> edit: there's a very very very brief mention of an eating disorder?? but like. very brief???

The thing Renjun hates about his room is that every morning, the sun never fails to shine through his window directly into his face, staying there long enough for him to grumble a few threats and wake up entirely, making him unable to fall back asleep when the sun finally hides behind Donghyuck's house.

Sure, he's thought about moving his bed to some other corner of his room, but that would require him to actually stop procrastinating and he's not mad enough for that yet.

Exasperated, he pushes himself upright, groggily throwing his blankets away and standing up. Black dots fill his vision, and he stumbles before catching his footing again, thinking that _maybe_ he should take Mark's advice to eat more ㅡ but then, eating disorders are a bitch, so what can you do.

He waddles up to his designated clothing chair, pulling out a shirt out of the pile of laundry he always forgets to stuff into the closet, and takes a long look at it ㅡ it's simple, grey, and probably acceptable enough to wear in public.

After he changes, he leaves the room, noticing the lack of his brother, slash guardian ㅡ sure, it's never too loud in their house, but Sicheng usually gets up even earlier than Renjun, and it's pretty uncommon for him to leave for work before even saying a simple _good morning_.

Though, there's a note lying on the counter that Renjun notices after a few minutes of confusion, and he picks it up, quickly reading the message.

_Sorry Renjun, I had to cover for Yuta, but I'll be back home as soon as I finish my shift! Could you go get some groceries, though? You know, we ran out of milk yesterday...  
Good morning, by the way!_

Then, as if added on an afterthought, on the back there's scribbled _please remind hyuck to stop being a brat at two am i was trying to sleep_ , and Renjun chuckles before crumbling the note.

He quickly types a message to Donghyuck, before throwing on the one yellow hoodie that's somehow always lying around, and steps out of the house.

(In his sleepy daze, he fails to notice the empty space on his windowsill, where he's left the gift the day before.)

✫彡

While he's standing in the queue, groceries in hand, his phone suddenly buzzes with a text.

**[08:53 am]** yo shortie what's the BEST crystal to banish some idiot

He squints at the message, briefly wondering why would Donghyuck already be awake, before typing out a cautious reply ㅡ and steeling himself for whatever punchline his best friend comes up with.

idk man which one **[08:53 am]**

 **[08:54 am]** any of them if you throw hard enough

donghyuck that's called murder **[08:56 am]**

 **[08:57 am]** not if u make it look like an accident

...who hurt u **[09:01 am]**

 **[09:02 am]** mark.  
**[09:02 am]** he doesn't """ bElieVe "" i'm a real witch  
**[09:03 am]** like can u BELIEVE this  
**[09:04 am]** his AUDACITY!!!!!!

A sigh slips past his lips. Of course, it was Mark again.

jfc just date already **[09:05 am]**  
what was it that was supposed to attract love?? **[09:05 am]**  
idk snort some lavender maybe **[09:06 am]**  
or shove a rose quartz up his ass **[09:07 am]**  
maybe THAT will make him believe **[09:07 am]**

 **[09:14 am]** DKHALDHAKDJKS INJUN UR MIND  
**[09:15 am]** listen. LISTEN u made me CHOKE on my TEA  
**[09:16 am]** i almost DIED

serves u right **[09:17 am]**

 **[09:17 am]** u know, sometimes i forget that your moon is in scorpio  
**[09:17 am]** thx for reminding me you're a psychopath!

✫彡

When he finally gets back, it's to a still empty house ㅡ except there's something different about it, this time. It takes him a few seconds to realize what, exactly, it is.

A fresh, floral scent reaches him from the kitchen, and he takes a double take before making his way over ㅡ as fast as he can while loaded with groceries, that is.

He steps inside, sniffing the air and looking around, until his gaze falls to the fridge. His eyes travel up, andㅡ

The groceries slip from his grasp as his breath hitches.

There, on top of the fridge, sits Jaemin.

His knees are bend a little, tucked into each other at an angle that can't, possibly, be comfortable. Leaning his back against the wall, he sips on the coffee Renjun remembers making yesterday (he can still see steam floating away from the cup, which, okay, _that_ seems pretty unlikely) and it looks like he's been waiting specifically for Renjun, his eyes closely following Renjun around - and he smiles softly against the cup when he notices Renjun staring right back at him.

Carefully, he puts down the drink next to himself, tilting his head to the side ㅡ and a chime fills the air, as numerous earrings knock against each other.

Now, as Renjun squints up at the other, he can recognize the pair he'd gifted the boy, in between them all.

"Hi there," says the boy, waving his hand gently, "you wanted to talk about something?"

_Yeah, about you getting off my fridge_ , slips through his mind, and he bites his tongue before he can even say that loud, "hey... the café, I went there recently, but it seemed kinda... different?"

"Oh," huffs out the boy, and he hides his mouth behind his arm, trying to hold back a chuckle but it still rumbles out of his throat, " _that_. Yeah, that's a thing, I guess."

He stars rocking back and forth, waving both his hands in the air and taking a deep breath to calm himself, only then speaking up again, "the café I took you to, and the one you visited, are actually the same one, justㅡ uh, I guess you could say that they're in like, different dimensions?" his eyebrows furrow, and he just out his lower lip in thought, "or, something like that, at least. Man, I suck at explaining things, don't I? Anyway, you just have to know the way to access the other oneㅡ it's just so no mortals accidentally stumble into _our_ spaces, you know?"

Renjun _doesn't know_ , actually. He still nods, though.

And Jaemin's eyes crinkle up as he grins at him, so he guesses that's okay.

"Come on," murmurs the boy, untangling his legs and slipping from his position, before jumping down onto the floor.

Renjun's baffled to see how easily the other lands on his feet, not even stumbling the slightest bit, and his hair puffs up, a few strands standing up in a rather adorable manner.

The boy reaches out his hand for Renjun to take, which he does after a second of contemplation, before looking Jaemin in the eyes again.

"Here, let's go there again," he explains, and the next thing Renjun knows, is that everything around them seems to both blur into unrecognizable shapes and focus almost impossibly ㅡ and before his head can start to hurt from the scene, he closes his eyes.

When he opens them again, they're standing in front of the counter, and Jaemin's smiling down at him, his eyes wide open and expecting, like a kid that's waiting for some kind of praise, and Renjun doesn't stop the giggle that bubbles out of his lips.

That seems to be enough for the boy, as he turns to the side, nodding at someone in greeting (Renjun guesses it's the bartender, wait, what was his name again?) and he follows his gaze, pleasantly surprised to find the said man smiling at the two of them from behind the counter.

He flicks his eyes to the name tag on his chest, noting his name in the back of his mind ㅡ Jaehyun, that was it.

When he glances back at his face, he notices a subtle, purple tint on the skin of Jaehyun's neck and cheeks. He guesses it must be a fae thing.

"Hello," Jaehyun says, his voice surprising Renjun with how gentle it sounds, "what would you like this time?"

✫彡

It's cold, dark, and to top it all of, he's lost.

(Cold is an understatement. Renjun's pretty much _freezing_. It's also dark to the point of being ridiculous, because no matter how hard he squints, he barely can see the outline of the empty alley he found himself in.

Oh, and he also has no clue where he is.

That's just unfortunate.)

He thinks back on everything that happened in the last few hours, trying to come up with how, exactly, he got in this situation.

He remembers chatting with Jaehyunㅡ turns out, the man really was as nice as Jaemin portrayed him, his friendly attitude instantly winning Renjun over.

The drink he made was definitely sweeter than the last one he handed Renjun, and the bartender only smiled sheepishly as Jaemin did the same trick with it right before Renjun could take a sip (he did notice this time, how Jaemin hasn't bothered to do it with his own drink, for some reason).

He also remembers glancing out if the window, just to whip his head around again. His mouth fell open while he stared as the sun made its way on the skyㅡ backwards.

Both Jaemin and Jaehyun openly laughed at his reaction, before the bartender took pity on him, "don't worry, that's normal," he reassured, patting his shoulder in a way he would a confused child. Which, Renjun guesses he kind of was, "time flies a little bit differently around here."

It didn't take long for the sky to darken, after that. And Jaemin?

Jaemin just smiled, taking a hold of Renjun's hand again, before saying goodbye to Jaehyun and walking out of the coffee shop.

Then it started going downhill.

Jaemin, as Renjun guesses, probably wanted to show him something. What a shame, because Renjun would gladly check out whatever it was. Instead, soon they found themselves smothered in between a crowd of people that Renjun was scared isn't entirely human ㅡ in the middle of it, he didn't even notice as Jaemin's hand slipped from his own.

And now, Renjun is lost.

He shudders, taking cautious steps ahead, hoping he doesn't walk into anything. His footsteps echo down the alley, followed by a distant sound of fireworks that momentarily lit his surroundings, enough to make sure that his path is clear ㅡ and he wonders, was that what Jaemin wanted him to see?

Were the fae having a festival of sorts?

He scrunches his nose at the thought, sniffing as his nose threatens him with a sneeze. Even if there is a festival being held, there's no way for him to see it anymore.

There's one thing that annoys him about this empty alley at night. It's fucking _scary_.

"Hello!" an overly enthusiastic voice cuts through the air, startling Renjun in the process, and a shriek rips through his throat (not that he'd ever admit that it was a shriek, of course).

He whips around just to see a boy, maybe barely a year younger than him, clutching his stomach as he seems to almost laugh his own lung out. Now, that Renjun's focusing on it, he notices how high pitched the boy's voice is, and how wide his smile is as he giggles. There's also a rosy blush on his cheeks, either from the cold or lack of oxygen, take a wild guess.

The stranger is simply cute in such a boyish way, Renjun can't help but feel concerned for the boy, being at such a dark, chilling place.

"Who...?"

He can't even finish the sentence, the sneeze he thought that went away before finally taking it's hold of him, and the boy finally manages to catch his breath.

"I'm Chenle!" he answers, like an energetic puppy, and Renjun guesses he doesn kind of look like one, "and you?"

"Renjun."

That only seems to make the younger even more animated, as he starts to bounce on his heels, his hands linked behind his back, "are you lost?"

Renjun can't hold back a wince, replying with a barely audible, "yeah."

"Oh! Don't worry, I know this place, just follow me!"

And with that, the boy grins at him, his eyes crinkling up and he turns around quickly, shooting in a direction that Renjun didn't even notice the alley went, waving at Renjun vigorously.

Guessing that he doesn't really have any other choice, he runs after the boy, cold air and his own fringe smacking his cheeks as he tries to keep up.

He never really thought he was _this_ out of shape, but oh boy, he might just think again.

While he's lowkey scared he'll either fall on his face or cough up his lungs, Chenle only keeps giggling as if he does this every day.

Actually, scratch that. For all that Renjun knows, he might be doing just that every day.

He's so busy trying not to faint, he doesn't notice it when the boy stops, and he almost barrels straight into Chenle, if not for the hand that catches him in time.

Looking up, a wave of relief washes over him when his eyes meet Jaemin's concerned ones.

Maybe he sighs out loud, too, but he doesn't really pay it any attention, letting himself hold onto the other's hand before turning back to look at Chenle.

"Is that your friend?" asks the boy, enthusiastic as ever, and Renjun can only nod ㅡ you know, being out of breath and all that.

He'd be lying if he said that Jaemin's silence wasn't worrying him.

"Great! See you later then, Renjun!" he shouts, waving eagerly, a smile lighting up his face before he turns back and leaves.

Renjun stares after the boy for a few seconds, turning to glance back at Jaemin ㅡ and his heart almost breaks at the crushed look on his face.

"Do you... know who he is?" he asks before Renjun can even open his mouth, and the question takes him aback for a minute.

"Yeah, that's, uh, Chenle?" he mumbles, not catching on.

Jaemin's eyes seem to hood over even more, if that's still possible at this point.

"He's one of the departed."

Renjun tilts his head to the side, confused. When Jaemin sees the other doesn't understand, he scrambles for an explanation, "you know, the, uh..."

He trails off, his gaze falling to the ground and his shoulders slump with his entire posture, before he finally murmurs, "he's dead, Renjun. And he probably doesn't even know he's a ghost."

(That night, when he gets home, he doesn't even bother greeting Sicheng, going straight for the bed.

Even if it takes him hours to fall asleep after that.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (starts breakdancing threateningly) y'all anon subscribers won't get more fic if ya don't leave any actual feedback, u know that right
> 
> u're lucky i like writing this fic cause My God  
>  u'd think that the skz fandom would leave less feedback since skz hasn't been around as long but seems i was wrong  
>  maybe i should just stick to writing skz fics hgkljsghls
> 
> edit: scorpio moons im so sorry ghfusfhkj i actually love scorpio placements so unu


	4. 밤이 깊어 갈수록 아픔만 커져가 Oh Oh

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Renjun splashes some tap water on his toothbrush as Donghyuck grabs the tub of toothpaste, and they're quiet for a second before Renjun speaks up, "Donghyuck, have you ever seen a ghost?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayy i'm back!! thank u for all the comments on the last chapter y'all <33 i really appreciate it!! (and sorry for being a lil bitter in the notes ghksjg)  
> also @ amorenjun (!! cute) i just had to say this, reading your comment made me feel like it's Way better written than this whole fic lmao, and again, thank u so much!!
> 
> \+ i didn't beta this yet, so i'm sorry if there are any typos and stuff!

"Where were you yesterday? You definitely weren't home when I got back."

Renjun winces at his brother's words, glancing up at Sicheng to see him nibbling on a spoon. He tightens his grip on it before pointing it at the younger accusingly, his eyes sharp as if he was staring right through Renjun's soul. There's a bit of honey stuck on the corner of his lips, but he either doesn't notice or ignores it in favour of trying (and succeeding) to look intimating. His other hand is loosely holding onto a carton of almond milk, and not for the first time, Renjun thinks how ironic it is, that neither of them have quite the socially acceptable eating habits.

He glances at the fridge, briefly considering looking through it for some kind of breakfast, but his throat tightens at the thought, and he decides against it.

"Iㅡ I have, honestly, no idea," he confesses, quickly explaining further when Sicheng only lifts his eyebrow at him, and he can feel an embarrassed blush crawling up his neck, "I got lost."

"Okay," the older says simply, no apparent change in his voice, but then his eyes soften the slightest bit as he adds, "as long as you're not doing anything dangerous, that's okay."

At that, Renjun winces again, but covers it up fast enough, as Sicheng only throws his spoon into the sink, right next to the few dirty dishes and a cup still waiting to get washed. Yeah, that's another thing they're, admittedly, not the best at.

Then, Sicheng sighs, exhaustion taking over his features once more, and he goes on a rant about some rude customer he met at work the day before, and Renjun can only nod along, because really, he has no idea whether what he's doing would be considered _safe_ ㅡ but he doesn't want to worry Sicheng any further, so he stays silent.

✫彡

He's staring up at the ceiling of his room, one of his legs hanging loosely over the edge of the bed.

He thinks back to the moment he lost Jaemin in the crowd. He didn't have much time to ponder about it before ㅡ but in between all the distinct faces, different shapes and voices and unique features, there was only one person that caught his attention for a second longer than the rest.

At the moment he didn't realize the reason why, but right now, he thinks that maybe it was because the boy looked the most... normal, out of them all.

The most human-like.

He looked like the kind of kid you'd find in high school, casually complaining about some class he doesn't like and busy with the day-to-day chores.

As if, despite barely fitting in, he didn't really belong.

Renjun furrows his eyebrows, trying to remember if he's ever saw the boy somewhere, anywhere else before, that didn't have anything to do with the supernatural.

He doesn't come up with anything, though, and he's pretty sure he'd remember seeing that light blue mop of hair in his boring classes or at a half-empty grocery store.

A sigh leaves his lips, and he wiggles, diving deeper into the fluffy sheets, irritated at yet another thing he doesn't have the answer to. This time, though, he feels like Jaemin wouldn't have any, either.

Then, an idea strucks him, and he sits up, looking straight at Donghyuck's house.

Maybe, just maybe, he can think of _someone_ that could help him. Again.

✫彡

He can't help but feel sheepish as he stands in front of the door to Donghyuck's house, having rang the bell and now, the door opens slowly to reveal his best friend, who only blinks at him, confused.

"Why bother coming down here when you can just climb the tree?" he murmurs, as if the second one was the socially accepted norm, not what Renjun's just done. He rolls his eyes in response.

"I don't know, I guess I just didn't feel like dying today," he responds, to which Donghyuck's eyes only widen, and he does a double take, before looking Renjun up and down, supposedly checking if it, indeed, was Renjun and not some clone sent by the government.

Renjun feels just a tiny bit insulted, but then he remembers that he was, kind of, acting weirdly, so he lets Donghyuck live this time.

"Are you gonna let me in or what?" he grumbles, shifting his weight from one leg to another as Donghyuck only squints at him harder.

"If you're not some weird reptilian pretending to be my best friend just to steal all the witchcraft secrets, then maybe, I might just consider it."

Okay, now Renjun definitely feels insulted.

He kicks the younger in the shin, who stifles a curse and opens the door wider with a glare, "okay, Christ, that's my Renjun alright, now come in you heathen."

The corners of Renjun's lips tilt up in a tight smile, and he steps inside before Donghyuck closes the door, and the boy leans against it while throwing Renjun a cautious glance.

"This is weird," he mumbles, probably not even meaning for Renjun to hear it, and he speaks up, louder this time, "seriously, why? you're acting... suspiciously proper."

"Okay, you got me there," he sighs, glancing at Donghyuck before averting his gaze to the wall, "I wanted to ask you if you'd let me, uh, look into your witchy stuff?"

Donghyuck tilts his head to the side, his hands falling flat to his sides as he stares at Renjun, dumbfounded.

"...You've never went out of your way to listen to my witchy rants."

He states it like it's a known fact, which honestly, it just might be. Renjun nibbles on his lip, shrinking under Donghyuck's confused gaze.

"I just, I don't know, I thought that this could help me understand everything that's been happening latelyㅡ and, yeah, I guess it's more interesting than I thought before, andㅡ"

"Wait," Donghyuck interrupts him, his eyes widening and suddenly he's bouncing on his heels in excitement, "are you saying you want to become a witch?"

Renjun's mind malfunctions for a second, and he stops to think about it, but Donghyuck's wiggling in place impatiently, "I, I don't know? I mean, I didn't really, _know_ you could just, become a witch..."

The younger snorts at his words, as if there was something hilarious about what Renjun's said, and he rolls his eyes with a soft smile before opening his mouth to say, "have you ever actually listened to me? You aren't _born_ a witch. Sure, your family might be full of witches, but that doesn't automatically make you one," he interrupts himself with a hum, glancing at Renjun as if he's just seen him for the first time, "actually, you're kind of like a baby witch already. Since, you already do know some stuff about witchcraft, through me of course."

Renjun only looks at the younger blankly, and Donghyuck heaves an exasperated breath.

"Okay, anyway, this wasn't all you've wanted to ask me, is it?" he guesses, pushing himself off the door and making his way upstairs, probably going straight for his bedroom, and Renjun immediately follows him, "yeah... listen, have you ever seen a kid, uh, more of a boy I guess, cause he's pretty tallㅡ don't give me that look, Hyuck, he was definitely taller than you, tooㅡ with like, this light blue hair?"

Donghyuck shoots him a look as he steps inside his room, which clearly says _very specific_ , to which Renjun just glares in response.

"No, not really, though I'm pretty sure a lot of people around here have blue hair," he replies, before a smug grin makes its way onto his face, "and like, I think everyone's taller than you."

Renjun doesn't hesitate to jump at the younger, reaching his arms out and around his neck, and Donghyuck makes a strangled sound but still manages to huff out with a shit-eating grin, "what if I _like_ being choked by cute boys?"

"Then at least you're gonna die while doing what you love," shoots back Renjun, because how dare Donghyuck want to have the last word in, the little menace.

✫彡

It's the next day, and Renjun wakes up in Donghyuck's bed, the said boy's legs tangled with his, and he huffs out a chuckle at how clingy his best friend gets in his sleep.

(Yesterday, he waited for Sicheng to come home before shouting from Donghyuck's window that he's staying the night, just so the older doesn't worry about his absence.

His brother only replied with a wave of his hand, acting like he couldn't care less, but deep down they both know how anxious the older gets when Renjun leaves for a long while without saying anything.)

"Hey, Donghyuck," he mumbles, resting his hand on the boy's shoulder, but the younger only scrunches his nose in his sleep, "hey."

He shakes slightly, holding back a laugh at the pained whine, as if waking Donghyuck up was as much of a crime as murder, and the boy's eyes open slowly just to glare at Renjun.

"Whoa, okay, mister not-a-morning-person," he chuckles, and the boy only grumbles again.

"Injun, you know very well I'm barely even a person," comes the snappy reply, and Renjun rolls down from the bed in case his best friend spontaneously decides to try and suffocate Renjun with the numerous pillows.

He pulls the sheets as he leaves, and Donghyuck whines again, but wakes up enough to follow after Renjun (not without complaining, that is).

They stumble downstairs, and into the bathroom, where Donghyuck throws him the one toothbrush he always uses, before reaching for his own.

Renjun splashes some tap water on his toothbrush as Donghyuck grabs the tub of toothpaste, and they're quiet for a second before Renjun speaks up, "Donghyuck, have you ever seen a ghost?"

The said boy glances at him from where he's already brushing his teeth, stopping what he's doing to think about Renjun's question.

"Yeah," his voice is muffled and there's some paste dripping down his jaw, and Renjun probably should feel disgusted, but the two know each other long enough for him to be used to this, by now, "I've worked with some departed before. Not much, since while some spirits are nice, some other can be actual assholes," it sounds like he's speaking from experience, and Renjun doesn't dare ask, "but yeah. Why?"

He chooses not to look at Donghyuck as he replies, instead focusing on the toothbrush in his hand, his voice trembling the slightest bit, "I've met one. Recently."

He doesn't have to see his best friend to tell that he's looking at him, though, and there's a worried tone in Donghyuck's voice when he replies, "oh," the movement in the corner of Renjun's eye stops, and he finally turns to look at the unmoving boy, who's staring back at him, concerned, "did you... know, that he's already a ghost?"

He shakes his head wordlessly and Donghyuck winces, " _oh_. Yeah, that's never fun."

"Donghyuck, he seemed so," he takes a second to come up with the best fitting word, "so _warm_. I just, I don't know, I feel bad for him."

He sees Donghyuck put down his toothbrush, slowly washing it under the tap water, and they're quiet for a minute, before the younger says, "I'm sorry."

Renjun gives him a smile that probably looks sadder than it's supposed to be, and changes the topic.

✫彡

It's midnight when Renjun glances at the clock on top of his nightstand, and he runs his tired eyes before turning back to the computer.

Sure, it's still summer, but that doesn't mean he gets to really stop studying, especially when he's not even in his home country, and he squints at the screen before typing again.

It's a quiet night, his neighbour's dogs surprisingly calm instead of their usual, never stopping yapping, and even Donghyuck isn't making any of his weird spells in the middle of the night ㅡ that, he only guesses from the lack of sudden crashes and dancing and, sometimes, strings of irritated curses, and whatever else that could possibly go wrong.

Renjun likes the silence, though, as its easier for him to fully focus on his studies.

He cheks the clock again, stretching in his chair and grimaced at the loud crack his neck makes.

Suddenly, a sound catches his attention.

He's not sure what, exactly, it is. It's too muffled for him to tell, and he looks around his room, but everything's in place, the same as before. He figures he must've been hearing things, but he doesn't get to turn back to the computer, when he hears itㅡ a quiet, single knock, followed by another, evenly, a second later.

With that, it's silent again.

Renjun doesn't like it this time.

Technically, it's not like anything really changed. But it fills him with an illogical fear, and he remembers that Sicheng took the night shift again, so he's alone in the house.

Then, it hits him.

Two, even knocks. In the middle of the night.

What Jaemin told him on the night they met.

His breath hitches, the room suddenly cold, and he's left with a feeling of being watched. He nibbles on his lips, closing his eyes, but it _doesn't help_ and he needs to get away from the door, at least as far as possible, or he's going to go mad.

He stands up, careful not to make a sound, and he doesn't remember feeling this lightheaded, but his legs are trembling under his weight, and he takes shaky steps to his bed, crawling on top of it. He grabs the sheets, bringing them closer, and he stares at the door, waiting.

Nothing happens, and it seems almost impossibly quiet, which only fuels his anxiety further, and he tucks his head under the sheets, trying to stop his body from shaking, but he's just so fucking _scared_.

(He doesn't dare leave his room until he's sure it's well into the day, and when Sicheng gets back home, the older doesn't comment on how his eyebags seem even darker than usually.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tbh i feel like the last scene might be kinda rushed and gklsjl sorry for that ! but ! i guess i'm a little bit too excited to already post it, so unu  
> but finally, shit's happening !!


	5. Baby, Oh, I Hate That I Love You 아마도 넌 벌써 다 잊었겠지만 (You Never Know)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What are you doing?"
> 
> Donghyuck's smile widens almost comically, and he reaches up the jar, cheekily shaking it at Renjun as he replies, "a love spell, what else would I be doing?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uhh i'll have to update the tags bc of this chapter,,
> 
> there's. a bit more than just a mention of an eating disorder in this chapter,,  
>  i didn't think this fic would be so angsty fskjkg but like, even spotify called me out for being emo so !
> 
> hope ya'll like this anyway !!  
>  (unbeta'd)

The first thing he does that day is going to the café and he orders as much different kinds of coffee as he can with the little amount of money in his pocket.

At Ten's baffled expression, he only shrugs sheepishly and mutters "to go, please?"

Neither Ten nor Johnny commented on the ridiculous request, the taller already scrambling to make the drinks as Renjun pays, the boy conscious of the fact he probably won't have any money left for any actual food for the rest of the week.

Ten only winces when Renjun struggles to hold the five drinks in his hands, Johnny even offering to help him carry them wherever Renjun needs to ㅡ he denies, but not without smiling gratefully up at the other.

And that's how Renjun finds himself piling up the drinks on his windowsill, after tripping on his way home and almost spilling some of them around four times, and he can't help but notice how ironically helpless and desperate he feels.

(Later, he concludes he can't stand simply waiting there, alone in his room with his thoughts running wild, and decides to visit Donghyuck ㅡ figuring the younger boy would help him forget about how terrified that night's event left him, even if just for a little while.

Before he gets to leave, though, he stops in the doorway, his foot hovering right above _something_.

He slowly backs away, before leaning down and glancing at the single flower lying in front of the door. It's a daffodil, the stalk snapped at the end, and the petals are the slightest bit crumbled; it looks almost pitiful, and there's an uncomfortable pang at the bottom of his stomach.

Remembering he once read about the flower language, finding it interesting when he was around ten years old, he searches his mind for the meaning it held.

After a few seconds, his breath hitches.

The general symbol of wealth, rebirth and new beginnings, a bunch of daffodils was associated with good luck; a single one, however, was told to foretell misfortune.

He tries to brush it off before heading to Donghyuck's house.)

✫彡

When he steps inside Donghyuck's room, his eyes skip over an open bag of chips, his best friend sitting in the middle of a drawn pentacle with lit, pink candles layed on the edges, the boy's bed and the sheets that are halfway down the floor, before he does a double take.

He stares, deadpan, at Donghyuck, who only blinks at him, a bashful smile pulling at his lips. His legs are folded, and he holds a jar in his hands, full of rose petals, apple seeds, chipped rose quartz, and what Renjun thinks might be small, white seashells.

He sniffs, and that's when he notices the strong, cherry incense that fills the room.

"What are you doing?"

Donghyuck's smile widens almost comically, and he reaches up the jar, cheekily shaking it at Renjun as he replies, "a love spell, what else would I be doing?"

Renjun squints at it, lowkey scared it's going to slip from the younger's hands, but Donghyuck grip on the jar remains careful, and the boy brings it closer to his chest, a delighted glint in his eye, "besides, the Moon is in Leo at the moment, so I'm overemotional, and Venus entered Sagittarius some time ago, and God knows I need that fire energy in my love life," he traces the lid of the jar, his nose scrunching when he adds in, his tone the slightest bit bitter, "I'm _tired_ of Mark's virgo venus, he just won't won't get a clue, so I thought, why not, maybe he just needs a little push?"

Renjun can only wordlessly shake his head in reply. He waves his hand in front of his face when he deems the cherry smell a bit too intense, before he points at the jar, "need any help with that?"

The redhead seems to think about it for a second, "actually, yeah. It needs to be sealed. Could you bring me one of the candles?"

"Wouldn't that, like, break the circle or something?" he mutters, and Donghyuck must find his comment way funnier than Renjun thinks it is, because the younger burst into a laugh, "nah, it doesn't work like that."

So he hesitantly waddles inside, taking the closest candle and steps into the pentacle, reaching his hand out to Donghyuck, who takes the candle with a grateful nod. Then, he brings it on top of the jar, and careful not to spill the wax onto the floor, he pours it on top of the lid.

Wide eyed, Renjun watches as it drips down the sides of the jar, painting pink lines on its way along, and before any of it can drip down, Donghyuck wipes at it with his thumb.

"All done," says the boy, a wide grin on his lips, before putting down the candle and reaching out his now empty hand, with an expectant look.

Chuckling, Renjun grabs the younger's hand and pulls him up, before the two walk up to the bookshelf. When Donghyuck safely tucks the jar on the top shelf, Renjun acts like he doesn't notice the light kiss the boy plants to the jar, and his best friend turns back to him with pleading eyes, "Injun, the best person I've ever met, the platonic love of my life, _please_ help me with cleaning this mess?"

And Renjun rolls his eyes, but does so anyway.

✫彡

It takes them two whole hours to get Donghyuck's bedroom to look close enough to the way it usually does.

Renjun would've never guessed that washing away the sharpie Donghyuck used to draw the pentacle would be so _hard_ , and he suddenly feels a surprising amount of respect towards the younger. He does that every major spell; Renjun would probably be too lazy for that.

(In the meantime, his beloved hoodie also almost catches on fire, but he'd rather not think about it.)

Now, they're laying on different ends of Donghyuck's bed, both trying to catch their breaths.

Renjun barely feels his fingers, Donghyuck's hair sticks out in every way possible, and Renjun's _tired_.

When he hears Donghyuck stretching his neck with a loud pop, he groans, which in turn causes Donghyuck to sputter a giggle, and soon, they're laughing like idiots at literally nothing. But it's nice, and Renjun likes it, likes how freely they express each other without any judgement.

Until Renjun's stomach grumbles, and the spell is ruined.

The two of them immediately fall silent, and the look Donghyuck throws at Renjun activates his fight or flight response.

Because Donghyuck knows.

He was the first one to know, actually, the first one Renjun trusted with it, yet now, panic starts to fill his lungs with every breath he takes, right as Donghyuck opens his mouth to say, "Renjun..."

He quickly averts his gaze, curling in on himself and he pulls his knees up to his chest.

He can hear the uncertainty in Donghyuck's voice, and as much as he appreciates the other, it doesn't calm down his racing thoughts.

The redhead sighs, loud enough for Renjun to catch it, and he can't help but feel he's somehow let the younger down.

(Realistically, he knows this isn't what Donghyuck meant by the sigh ㅡ he knows his best friend is just worried.

But right Now, the only thing he hears is the anxiety nagging at him in his mind, and he doesn't even realize when his hands stats trembling.)

"Renjun, when was the last time you've eaten?"

He winces, but doesn't reply, instead choosing to shake his head at the younger.

"Renjun, you know this isn't good for you," tries Donghyuck, scrambling to get up and taking a cautious step closer to the other, "come on, let's go to the kitchen, you don't have to eat much, just a little bit, really, just a biteㅡ"

"Donghyuck."

The redhead freezes, and Renjun lifts his head, looking up and he meets the boy's gaze.

And maybe his lip trembles as he continues, his voice cracking in the middle of the words, "Donghyuck, _please_."

He can't see himself at the moment, but he's sure he must look entirely pathetic, his eyes wide and full of fear as he pleads forㅡ he doesn't even know what, but he's desperate, and he can't stand the thought of eating anything right now, feels he's going to throw up if he does, and Donghyuck seems to take pity on him.

"Okay."

He doesn't look exactly convinced, and he bites his lip after he speaks, and _maybe_ his voice has a gentle edge to it, but he walks up to Renjun and cautiously circles his hands around the boy, his palms rubbing comforting circles into Renjun's back, andㅡ

It's okay. Renjun's okay.

(Not really, no, but right now, he lets himself believe it, just for a moment.)

✫彡

He comes back home to find his brother already inside, judging by the shoes laid carelessly by the wall and surprisingly cheery humming coming from the kitchen.

He toes off his sneakers, putting them next to Sicheng's own, and slides his feet into a pair of slippers before making his way to the said room.

As he steps inside, he notices Sicheng standing by the counter, his back turned towards Renjun. Once again, there's a spoon in his hand, as he snacks on peanut butter straight from the jar (Renjun wrinkles his nose at that, because _ew_ , peanut butter) and he's wearing a jumper in the same obnoxious shade of orange as the hoodie Renjun's thrown on this morning.

Immediately, he jumps into a wider stance, pointing his finger at Sicheng in his best impression of that one Spiderman meme, and his brother, having heard his footsteps, turns to face him. He glances at Renjun, at the hoodie he's wearing, and slowly, he takes he spoon out of his mouth and points it back at Renjun, before cracking a smile.

"You're in a good mood," Renjun comments, letting his arms fall against his sides, and he tucks them into the pockets of his hoodie with a questioning eyebrow raise.

"Yeah," the older replies, turning back to the jar, "there's this new kid that applied for a summer job, Yangyang, I think? Seems pretty cute, and he might be your age, actually," the last sentence he mutters with a contemplative look in his eye, his gaze landing on Renjun, and the younger pales.

"Oh no, don't adopt him, I'm not ready for yet _another_ brother, you're already too much," he mumbles, causing Sicheng to wince, as if to say _fair enough_.

But his expression quickly turns to the same thoughtful look, and the glint in his eye doesn't fade away as he hums, noncommittal, "if you say so."

Just from that response, Renjun knows he'll have to meet the said boy sooner or later.

✫彡

He forgets all about the gift on his windowsill until he hears a light tap on his window as he's about to slip into his bed.

He rubs at his eye, yawning into his fist, and he turns to face it as he pats down the wrinkles on his pajama shorts.

There, balancing on the branch of the old tree, sits Jaemin, a sheepish smile on his lips.

It kind of reminds him of Donghyuck. But also, kind of, not really.

When it's Donghyuck, he always shoots him a glare, ready to grumble and complain as Renjun lets him in, because that's just how their friendship goes.

It isn't Donghyuck, though, and Jaemin looks tired, but in the softest way possible. His nose scrunches as he grins wider at Renjun, his palms slipping from the wet branch before he catches his balance again, and there's an embarrassed blush on his cheeks when he glances at Renjun again.

(It's kind of cute, a part of Renjun thinks, and he quickly shushes it.)

Without much thought, Renjun walks up to the window, opening it carefully and he hears Jaemin sigh in relief when the boy slips inside. He wipes his hands on his jeans, which makes Renjun scrunch his nose, but he doesn't comment on it.

"Hey, uh, that was... a lot of coffee you left for me," Jaemin speaks up after a few seconds, and Renjun winces at the concerned glance the taller sends him.

He nods, unsure what to say.

"What happened?"

_Straight to the point_ , he thinks as he nibbles on his lip. An uncomfortable shudder crawls up his spine when he recalls the events of the night, and he wiggles his shoulders to get rid of the feeling.

"Remember what you said, about the, uh, two knocks, in the middle of the night?" he stumbles on his words, but Jaemin seems to catch on immediately, and his eyes widen so much, Renjun would find it funny at any other moment.

"Shit," the boy whispers, and it's Renjun's turn to look startled; he hasn't heard the other curse before, "I was hoping this wouldn't actually happen."

Renjun tilts his head to the side, before Jaemin asks, worry dripping from his voice, "you didn't open the door, right? Wait, no, you're still here, of course you didn't," he interrupts himself with a chuckle, but it sounds grim at best, "...it was scary, wasn't it?"

He nods again, avoiding Jaemin's eyes, because the concern in the boy's gaze is too much for him to handle, at least at the moment.

They stay silent for a few minutes, standing there in Renjun's room, the only source of light being the moon, slowly rising outside. The window is still open, and Renjun shivers when a gust of wind flies into the room.

Jaemin seems to notice, because the next thing he does is shut it, careful, before he turns to face Renjun again, his voice almost impossibly gentler than before "do you... want me to stay?"

In any other situation, Renjun probably would say no. He's never been too good at showing emotion, at asking for help, or interacting with other people in general ㅡ the only time he lets himself act vulnerable around others is when he knows them long enough to feel comfortable around them.

(Thinking about it now, the only people he's openly affectionate with are Sicheng and Donghyuck. That's... not a lot, he has to admit.)

But now, when an imagine of spending the night alone pops into his mind, he's just, that ㅡ scared.

So he reaches out to tug at the sleeve of Jaemin's sweater, hoping it's enough of an answer.

It seems to be, as the boy lets himself be pulled by Renjun into the bed. It's not too big, honestly, but Jaemin still manages to leave some space in between them, for what Renjun's thankful ㅡ how the other goes out of his way as to not make Renjun uncomfortable.

And Jaemin's steady breathing lulls him to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact: the thing that hyuck says in the love spell scene abt the moon being in leo and venus in sag? yeah, it was actually like that when i was writing the scene lmao  
> the moon's already in virgo tho so i'm at my Peak (says your local virgo moon)  
> fun fact 2: the last scene was supposed to be way angstier than it is, so. consider this me being?? nice?? for once?? ghshjg


	6. 이별의 크기가 너와는 다르게 잊는다는게 생각처럼 잘 안돼

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Haven't seen you in a while, old man," he says, standing behind Donghyuck and grinning into the camera, before glancing down at the screen and watching as Mark's face lights up with realization.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello!!!!! sorry i'm so late gfkjhfkjs my school break ended and i,, went from lazying around to barely having time to breathe tbh. so i won't be able to update as fast as i did before, but i'll try to find some time!!  
> this chapter is.. surprisingly soft?? even I'M shocked hfskjgks
> 
> it's also unbeta'ed. hope ya'll like this tho!!

He wakes up to a surprisingly warm bed and what he assumes is an arm thrown over his chest.

A soft sigh slips past his lips as he leans back into the warmth surrounding him, and he almost wishes to slip back into sleep, and the soothing dream his mind came up with that night.

He feels a puff of breath on the back of his neck, and he's amazed at the fact that it doesn't make him as uncomfortable as he'd thought it should. Instead, as he opens his eyes and sees Jaemin's hand in front of his stomach, lightly holding on to the front of his shirt, and it's just that ㅡ for some reason, the whole cuddling situation only leaves him feeling cozy, safe from whatever was out to get him, and he guesses, he wouldn't mind staying like this for a little more time.

Even if being the little spoon frustrates him a ring bit.

(It really doesn't. Quite the opposite, actually. But he's strong and independent and him _liking_ being the little spoon would ruin his reputation, so he doesn't. Of course not.)

After a few seconds of content silence, he slowly turns in Jaemin's embrace to face the boy ㅡ careful not to wake the other up, but it's harder to do than it probably should be, especially when he notices their legs must've tangled sometime in the night, and the position isn't as comfortable anymore. But it's so worth it.

Because Jaemin's lips part the slightest bit as he sleeps, his eyelashes casting shadows over his cheeks, and when Renjun pays it enough attention, he notices a light, barely visible, cerulean hue oh his skin, where his cheekbones jut out and just above his eyebrows.

Really, Renjun probably wouldn't notice it at any other time, and for a split second he lets himself wonder just what, exactly, Jaemin is.

Renjun's pretty sure he can skip the Ghost slash Alien speculations. Because one, weren't ghosts supposed to like, radiate cold? Was it even possible to touch one? He pinches Jaemin's arm lightly, the boy's eyebrows knitting for a second before they smooth out again, but otherwise he doesn't react. Yeah, that seems like pretty solid proof of Jaemin being alive.

And second, as much as Renjun adores everything space and aliens related, they're still yet to find any intelligent life out there.

(He'll still keep an eye open, though. Only because Jaemin being an alien would be cool.)

He recalls the café Jaemin seems to like, and the bartender. _Jaehyun_ , Renjun remembers that now. One of the fae.

They seemed to get along pretty well, and when he thinks about it now, Jaehyun seemed to have purple marks on his skin, similiar to the ones Jaemin has.

Maybe Jaemin's some distant relative or cousin of Jaehyun's. That would make him a fae, right?

Or maybe Renjun's brainstorming too much.

That's why he doesn't mind it much when his thoughts get interrupted by Jaemin's eyes fluttering open, blinking up at Renjun blearily a few times before his lips pull into a small smile, which makes Renjun feel some weird twist in his chest that he doesn't dare think about.

"Good morning," murmurs the boy, nuzzling deeper into the the pillows and, by the extent, Renjun's neck.

Renjun can only hum vaguely in reply, because Jaemin's hair _tickles_ , and he might be just a little dumbfounded.

So he does the thing he knows best: he puts his hands on Jaemin's shoulder, and gently pushes the boy away.

"We have to get up," he says, but he _knows_ this is just an excuse, because he's socially awkward and has no idea how to deal with his own emotions.

At least Jaemin doesn't seem to mind, because the boy only nods before he's already sitting up.

Renjun toes the blanket away, briefly disappointed at the sudden cold, before he rolls to the side and stands up, stretching his back with a yawn.

He glances back to Jaemin, the boy cracking his neck, his nose scrunching up at the sound, and only then does Renjun remember the boy is still wearing the same clothes since yesterday.

So he waddles up to the closet, scratching the back of his neck as he looks for anything he thinks would fit the taller boy. It's actually not that hard, because Renjun likes wearing oversized clothing, anyway.

He squints at all the hoodies he owns, grabbing the closest one (it's bright yellow, a small, cartoonish alien staring at him blankly from the side, and it's, coincidentally, his _favorite_ ).

It's not as easy finding the boy a pair of trousers, though.

It takes him a minute until he finds some bleached jeans, ripped at the knees, that seem just a tiny bit longer than the rest. Renjun thinks he can recall a blurry memory of having to cuff them when he actually put them on.

Satisfied with his choice, he turns to Jaemin, the boy already looking at him questioningly, and hands him the clothes.

"Here," he tries to sound as casual as possible, but he's pretty sure Jaemin can tell just how shy he suddenly feels, "you didn't even change into something comfortable to sleep, which, uh, is probably my fault. Sorry."

And Jaemin gapes at him only for a second before it turns into a wide grin, and _oh_ , that certainly makes his chest feel warmer than it did before.

"Thanks."

✫彡

Changing doesn't take them much time, and soon they're walking downstairs, Jaemin's eyes wide as he takes in more of Renjun's house.

It's kind of anxiety inducing, because Renjun _knows_ how it looks.

Truth be told, he and Sicheng aren't wealthy. Far from it, actually. Having no parents, they're the only one living in the house, and how much money can they have when it's just a teenager and a guy that's barely an adult?

As much as Renjun's used to the worn down, peach coloured walls surrounding the small rooms, and the wooden floor that gets swept off only when either of them remembers the last time they've cleaned it was more than a week ago. Really, he's used to it.

But every time someone new comes in, he can't help but feel self-conscious, and he worries at his lip even though there's no hint of judgement in Jaemin's eyes.

(He tries not to think about the clothes the other is wearing.

Turns out, contrary to Renjun, Jaemin doesn't mind changing in the same room as others, so before Renjun had the time to say anything, the other's already turned away and in the middle of taking his shirt off.

Renjun quickly looked away, figuring he could stomp down the uncomfortable feeling he always gets in the changing rooms and, occasionally, at the doctor's, and just change where he's standing.

There's one thing he notices before turning away, though. Jaemin has freckles.

On his back. And the neck. Right where Renjun could see his spine, if he actually took his time, but he's not a creep.

They're also the same, cerulean shade as the hue on Jaemin's cheeks.

Renjun's not sure what to do with that information, so he just files it at the back of his mind.)

"Your house's pretty cozy," notes Jaemin, his voice not as clear as it usually would be as he's a few steps ahead, but it soothes Renjun's nerves, at least a little bit.

When they stumble into the kitchen, Renjun isn't surprised at the strong smell of coffee that fills his lungs, but he can't hold back a smile when he hears Jaemin's content hum.

That is, until he sees Sicheng in the corner of the kitchen, openly staring at Jaemin before his gaze turns to Renjun.

He takes a sip of his drink, putting it down onto the counter before crossing his arms, his stance the slightest bit intimidating.

"Renjun, uh, it's nice that you've found yourself a boyfriend, but why haven't you introduced him to me yet?"

The look Sicheng shoots him makes Renjun sputter, and he can see Jaemin's confused-slash-amused smile from the corner of his eye, and, how did he get himself into this ridiculous situation, again?

"Sicheng, noㅡ Jesus, calm down, he's not my boyfriend," his voice cracks in his haste to explain, and Sicheng raises his eyebrow at Jaemin's jokingly murmured _yet_ , "besides, shouldn't you be at work instead of interrogating me?"

The older's eyebrows inch even higher as he points at the clock.

At first Renjun just tilts his head in question, but then he actually checks the hour and does a double take.

"There's still half an hour before I have to go, you gremlin," Sicheng explains, and adds in, a tiny bit quieter, "why are you even awake? And what's the name of your friend?"

"I, uh, I don't know? I guess I just woke up earlier than usual. And, this..." he mumbles in reply, before glancing at Jaemin, the said boy waving at Sicheng with a wide smile. His eyes crinkle up in a way that's too adorable for Renjun to admit, "this is Jaemin. Jaemin, that's my older brother, Sicheng. Please don't scare him off."

At that, the boy's smile slips from his face, "I'm offended you'd even say that."

Fortunately, Sicheng seems to take a liking to the other, because he chuckles at the words, and when Renjun peers at him, there's a satisfied glint in his eye, the same kind that Renjun recognizes from the time he was talking about Yangyang.

("Also, isn't that your favorite hoodie?" the older asks him later, as he's about to leave, his voice hushed, but judging by Jaemin's brief glance at them, the boy hears it.

Renjun only shakes his head quickly, pushing Sicheng out of the room before he has the time to embarrass him even more.)

✫彡

It isn't until two hours later that Renjun realizes that Jaemin is _still there_.

No, that might've been frazed wrong. Renjun knows that, because Jaemin's sitting on the table, swinging his legs as he flicks the pages in Renjun's art history textbook (where did he even get that?), but the boy hasn't stayed with Renjun this long before, so it takes him a second to realize that this is actually _happening_.

"Why are you still here?" slips out of his mouth before he can even realize, and he curses his brain to mouth filter for not working this time.

But Jaemin seems to get what he means, as the boy turns yet another page without even looking at him, "you asked me to stay, so I did. You never told me when I have to leave, though."

"Oh."

He blinks, before glancing out of the window, right at Donghyuck's house. Then, he gets an idea.

If he lets Donghyuck meet Jaemin, then surely his best friend will be able to tell him what Jaemin is, right?

"Hey, have you ever met a witch?"

That finally gets enough of Jaemin's attention for the boy to look up at him, and he juts out his lower lip in thought, " no, not really."

Renjun smiles, "do you want to?"

When Jaemin replies with a cheery _yes_ , he doesn't waste his time pulling the boy down from the table, and maybe he ignores the loud smack as his textbook falls to the floor, because he's already out of the door.

✫彡

When they walk into Donghyuck's room, there's two things Renjun noticed right off the bat.

First off, his best friend isn't facing them. Actually, his back is turned to them, and he doesn't even seem to notice them coming in, all his attention on his computer.

And second, when Renjun squints, he thinks he can make out Mark's pixelated, smiling face on the screen.

"Haven't seen you in a while, old man," he says, standing behind Donghyuck and grinning into the camera, before glancing down at the screen and watching as Mark's face lights up with realization. Donghyuck startles at his words, but Renjun ignores it in favour of subtly wiggling his eyebrows at the older.

"Learn to knock, Injun," murmurs Donghyuck, sending Renjun a glare, just as Mark's voice comes through the speakers, "hey, it's not my fault my uni is so far from home."

"You should've just stayed here," whines the redhead, earning himself a laugh from the older and an eyeroll from Renjun.

"That's his way of saying he misses you, by the way," he adds in, grinning at the quiet _I know_ that Mark replies with, and he _almost_ forgets about bringing Jaemin with him here, until the said boy huffs out an uncertain chuckle, startling Donghyuck for the second time that day.

As Donghyuck turns in his chair to gape at Jaemin, Renjun shoots him an apologetic glance.

"Oh, sorry, that's, uh..." he trails off, licking his lips, "remember Jaemin? Yeah, that's him."

The redhead's face goes from shock to curiosity in seconds, and he looks up at Jaemin with wide eyes as the other only smiles awkwardly from the doorway.

"Don't worry, he's not that scary when you get to know him," Renjun adds, waving at Jaemin to come closer, which the other hesitantly does.

"What the hell. Your skin is green, that's so cool," Donghyuck says, his eyes searching Jaemin's face as the boy seems embarrassed at all of the attention that's on him.

"Cerulean", corrects him Renjun, without much thought, and Donghyuck turns to him, deadpan, "whatever, you art nerd."

And Renjun doesn't even get to feel insulted, because when he looks at Jaemin, he finds the other already staring back at him. His face has changed since Renjun's last glanced at him, though, because now, Jaemin's lips are parted, his gaze locked on Renjun, as if distracted by something he did, and it seems almost admiring, if Renjun didn't know better. There's also a rosy tint quickly making its way to Jaemin's cheeks and ears, and that makes Renjun stop to think, did he do or say something weird?

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm still here."

Mark's muffled voice cuts through the air, and Renjun's glad at the excuse to change the topic, so he turns to wave his hand vaguely at his two other friends.

"Shit, yeah. Jaemin, this is Mark, that one dude that everyone around here loved until he left for uni," the said boy hums, not even trying to deny it, "and that's, unfortunately, my best friend, Donghyuck. He's a witch."

"What do you mean, _unfortunately_ , you punk."

Both Mark and Renjun wince, knowing the redhead well enough to know what's coming, and Jaemin only tilts his head in confusion before Donghyuck starts ranting.

" _God_ , Seungmin was right when he told me not to trust Aries men, but no, I, a fool, had to go and platonically entrust you with all my love and dedicationㅡ"

(On second thought, maybe coming here today was a bad idea.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hgkjskj i'm rlly rlly tired so i;m sorry if there were. any stupid typos or sentences that just Don't Make Sense but i. don't have the energy to beta it rn ghskjhk  
> anyway, if u want to hmu, my tumblr is @starryhwa !!! (yeah i changed the url isn't it Cute)  
> i would rlly rlly like it if u'd leave a comment or smth :^)

**Author's Note:**

> please leave some feedback if u liked this!! <33  
> also can u tell this is my first nct fic lmaooooo


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